Book review: BBC Sports Personality of the Year, 50th Anniversary

What do Greg Rusedski, David Steele, Sir Stirling Moss, Paul Gascoigne, Damon Hill, Christopher Chataway and Nigel Mansell have in common? They have all been named the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and they all did it in years when they won nothing of note.

We know that Mansell and Hill (who each claimed the accolade on two occasions) won the Formula One world title and went on to collect the BBC prize. But they were also our favourites after seasons in which they endured what might best be described as glorious failure — in common with Steele (a decent, but brave batsman in a mediocre England Test side), Moss (who, mysteriously, remains the most glamorous of all British racing drivers despite never having won the world championship), Gascoigne (given the nod